


Unexpected Turn of Events

by upsteadheart



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:22:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29311776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upsteadheart/pseuds/upsteadheart
Summary: AU spin of what happens at the hospital after Jay is shot by Angela. True to his storyline, Jay really does have a bad history with hospitals and goes through a PTSD-induced panic attack. Only one person is best-suited to help him through it.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Kudos: 62





	Unexpected Turn of Events

Since when did two days begin to feel like two years? It had been so long, Hailey couldn’t remember not having her butt glued to the uncomfortable, padding-free waiting room chair.

She knew she should change into the clothes Vanessa had brought her and probably eat even just a little bit of the gyro the officer had gotten from her favourite joint in Greek town.

But if Hailey was honest with herself, nearing on breakdown number four now, it would probably just come right back up and make her feel even sicker than she did, as if it were at all possible.

They’d all tried. She’d been told at least a half a dozen times now to go get even a couple hours of rest. Will even offered her the currently empty doctor’s lounge.

But every time Hailey closed her eyes, she was right back in that ambulance, her partner clinging to life and his heart-rate dropping in front of her eyes by the second.

“Hailey?” She heard, snapping her out of it. The detective looked up to find Will standing there in front of her, a look on his face she couldn’t quite read.

Worry? Fear? Grieving? “Jay just woke up.” Her stomach dropped to her feet, as one too many emotions simultaneously took over her small frame.

A slight gasp escaped Hailey that she hadn’t been aware of holding in since she got here, waiting for the inevitable announcement she’d been trying to prepare herself to hear, and praying would never reach her ears.

Will dropped a hand to her shoulder, keeping her from toppling over in the chair she was still sitting in.

“He realized he was in the hospital and started panicking immediately. Nurses can’t get him to calm down.” Will told her.

The detective immediately launched to her feet, following him through the ED and upstairs to the recovery wing.

\--

They got upstairs and the scene before them broke her heart. Jay positively losing it, the deafening sound of monitors around him going off and the three nurses around him shouting various orders at one another, doing absolutely nothing to help the escalating situation.

“Jay.” She dropped, putting them out of her mind and rushing to his side. Hailey dropped her hand to his forearm, the other to his shoulder, feeling his warm skin under her touch.

Panicked as he was, Jay’s eyes sought hers, searching for the comforting glow of her emerald orbs.

“Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to leave the room and let us do our job.” One of the nurses told Hailey, attempting to pull her away from Jay.

The blonde turned her head slightly to shoot the nurse a look that told her she better back away. “Lady, unless you want me to cuff you to that radiator over there, back off.

The three of you are doing nothing but stressing him out more and unless you’re a trained psychiatrist, capable of getting a random stranger through a PTSD-induced panic attack, I’m gonna need you to leave the room and let me take care of my partner.” Hailey spat, turning back to Jay and not waiting for a reaction from the nurse clearly about a foot taller than her.

Will stood by the door, an impressed look on his features, as the nurse turned to look at him looking for support and found not an ounce of it there.

“We’re good in here, ladies.” He told them, encouraging them to vacate the room and let Hailey do her thing.

“Jay.” Hailey breathed again, her hand rubbing the back of his neck gently. “You’re safe, Jay, it’s okay.” She assured him, the sight of his flushed cheeks and teary eyes crippling her heart.

The man hates hospitals and that’s no secret to anyone in his life. She wasn’t sure how many other people besides her and possibly even Will knew why, but she’d never seen it manifest like this before.

“You’re not in Afghanistan anymore, and you’re not at the vet hospital. You’re in Chicago, at MED.” Hailey assured him very slowly, keeping her tone soft and low.

She knew from the stories he’d told her, that since the day his team was pronounced dead at the local vet hospital in Kandahar after the IED attack, Jay had never been the same again when he saw the four walls of a hospital.

Hailey saw the PTSD spark in his eye every time they’d come to MED to interview a victim and their family, or check on a suspect who’d caught one of their bullets on a raid.

He did his best to hide it and pretend he was unaffected by it. But by now Hailey could read him like a book. Jay wasn’t hiding anything from her, and he never could.

His laboured breathing didn’t improve much, but Hailey felt the tension in his body begin to decrease. She kept a close eye on the heart rate monitor, the sky-high numbers on the screen not quite to her liking.

She dropped her hand a little lower to the middle of his back. “Take a breath in from here, deeper and deeper until you count to ten. Then let it out and do it again.” Hailey coached, still being mindful of her tone.

By the third time she got him to do it, the rate on the screen started to lower a little bit. But the tension in his body was still rigid under her touch.

Hailey dropped her forehead against his, feeling the slight dampness on his skin. His hand immediately clung to hers, making her heart clench.

She gave it a soft squeeze, letting him feel her presence in his hold. “You’re okay, Jay.” She breathed. “I got you, partner.” Hailey assured him.

Jay took in the warm, comforting aura of her embrace, the familiar vanilla scent hitting his nose. He let it flow up his flared nostrils and felt himself start to come down slowly but surely.

“Keep goin’.” Hailey encouraged, keeping her other hand at his back, not daring to move from her current position.

Like music to her ears, Hailey heard the sound of the heart-rate monitor return to a normal-sounding pace, making her take a relieved deep breath of her own.

“Hailey…” The weak sound of his voice finally came. “Yeah, I’m here.” She confirmed. Stroking her thumb back and forth on the back of his hand.

Jay took another deep breath, a lot more convincing this time, before letting his head hit the pillow behind it. From this angle he was looking right into his partner’s eyes.

This time two days ago he wasn’t sure he ever would again. Hailey flashed him a small smile, their grips not releasing the other’s.

“Welcome back.” She breathed, her eyes tearing up a tad. Jay’s opposing arm not currently pinned down by his shoulder wound reached out to her.

Hailey very gently wrapped her arms around his neck, being extremely mindful of the fresh surgery wound on his shoulder.

She dropped her head to his neck, as Jay’s arm wrapped around her back. “You scared me, Jay.” Hailey dropped against his warm skin.

He knew what she meant. Not the panic attack, the shooting. When she sat on the bench in the ambo, pleading with him to stay awake and not leave her.

She’d lost too many people. He couldn’t be one more person who left her behind. It’s what made him fight to survive and come back to her.

Hailey looked up at his brother. “Will, can you get some ice chips from down the hall?” She requested. He smiled back at her, getting the cue to beat it.

If there was anyone he felt secure leaving his brother with when he was this vulnerable, it was his partner.

“How’s Angela?” Jay asked her, once his brother had left the room. “Lucky she doesn’t have one of my bullets in her artery.” Hailey bit.

A soft chuckle escaped him, looking down at their linked hands. “She’s fine. Was arrested a couple hours ago.” Hailey filled him in.

“I’m sorry, Hails… I should’ve listened to you.” Hailey gulped down the thick ball that had been stuck in her throat for days.

“I get it.” She told him, making Jay look at her surprised. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m pissed as hell and I’d like to kill you myself for putting me through that

But I get why you couldn’t let it go. It’s who you are, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Hailey expressed.

“You saved my life, Hails.” A soft puff came from her at that. “Hardly.” She answered him. But Jay shook his head, her mind clearly not getting where he was going with his statement.

Jay took a breath, trying to keep his nerves calm. “In the ambo… Seeing your face like a blurry shadow… I was scared to never see you again.” He told her, making tears prick at her eyes.

She had the same fear, and up until about twenty minutes ago, Hailey thought she might not. “I had this fear that built up inside me. Not of dying or… any of the regrets I might have goin’ out like that.” Jay continued.

“I was afraid that was the last time I’d ever see you and I’d never be able to tell you the truth.” He said to her.

Hailey’s brow raised a little. “The truth? About the case? Jay, we already know –” “No, no. Not the case.” He gently squeezed her hand.

He took another beat, choosing his words wisely. “I’m in love with you, Hails.” Jay confessed, making those tears build up in her eyes double-time, and her stomach drop for the umpteenth time today.

“Somewhere along the way, the last four years… Something just clicked. But I didn’t know where your head was at, and it seemed like every time I got close to telling you, something would get in the way. This being a prime example.” Jay rolled his eyes, finally making her laugh.

Hailey bent her head a little, tilting it to the right and leaning in to capture his lips with hers. Jay’s parted to let her tongue in to dance with his.

They both instantly felt their bodies light up. Like a spark that ran through every nerve.

“Here you go – oh.” Will’s voice came, as he stepped back into the room, a plastic cup of ice chips at hand. He smirked at the detectives, clearly knowing exactly what he walked into.

“Sorry to interrupt.” He teased, as his grin grew. “Out.” The detectives ordered simultaneously. The doctor laughed, leaving the cup of soon to be melted ice on the tray table by the bed.

He stepped back out, closing the door behind him and finally felt a real smile spread across his face for the first time in two days.

“I should probably call the team, tell them you’re okay.” Hailey told Jay, between soft pecks, beginning to pull out her phone. “Hm.” Jay stopped her hand, pulling it from the device and taking hold of it.

“Don’t want anybody else right now. Just you.” Jay replied, keeping her close.

Hailey’s dimples folded at that. “Ditto.” She agreed, dropping her head to his uninjured shoulder.

They were okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
